Viñales confident of third victory in a row in Austin

MotoGP World Championship series leader Maverick Viñales comes to Austin confident of building on his 14 lead at the top of the standings.

The Spaniard has made a stunning start to life with the Yamaha YZR-M1, winning both of the opening races in Qatar and Argentina, giving him an early cushion over his team mate, Valentino Rossi, and maybe more importantly 37 points ahead of defending World Champion Marc Marquez.

Marquez will be hoping to get his season back on track this weekend, however, despite Marquez winning all four previous races at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Viñales has reason to be confident himself, with the Spaniard showing extremely strong form in previous years at the American circuit – winning his first Moto2 race there and finishing fourth place on the Suzuki last season. This has left him confident that he can not only challenge for a podium, but for victory once again this weekend.

“The next round is Austin and I’m happy because I won my first race there in Moto2, I’ve always been very strong here,” said the 22-year-old. “I also had one of my best results in America last season.”

Viñales believes the undulating nature of COTA is one of the reasons he always goes well there, with the fast corners suiting his riding style well.

“I think it’s a good track for my riding style. I love the up and down track, with lots of elevation, so I’m excited to see how my M1 will work here and how I’m going to feel riding the Yamaha,” he said.

“I’m confident and I know that I can do another good race weekend.”

Yamaha are currently sat on 499 premier class victories, should Viñales claim his third win of the season this Sunday, it will be a huge achievement for everybody involved with Yamaha.